Amanda awoke suddenly to the sound of light tapping on a door. Was it her mother? Had she overslept? She quickly realized she wasn’t in her bed, she wasn’t even on her own couch, and she certainly wasn’t alone. The strong arm draped over her was a sure sign of that. Within moments, the previous night’s events flooded her mind. She groaned inwardly. What must he think of her, spending the night at the home of a man she just met the night before? There it was again, the light tapping. She eased from under his arm and crept to the front door.
When she opened the door, a petite woman, who appeared to be in her mid-sixties, greeted Amanda. “Hello,” she said, trying to be as friendly as possible at the crack of dawn, while also trying not to wake Lee.
“Oh…hello,” the woman replied and rolled her eyes.
She didn’t seem surprised to see someone other than Lee answer the door. Amanda suddenly felt embarrassed. It was clear what this woman was implying with her looks.
“I don’t mean to disturb you, but I wanted to give this to Mr. Stetson. It was delivered to my apartment by mistake.” She handed the envelope to Amanda, and then pulled it away from her grasp. “You will be sure to give it to him? The last time I left something with one of his ‘lady friends’ he never received it. Of course, it didn’t help that I couldn’t remember which one I had left it with. He has so many of you coming and going, it would be a full-time job keeping track of you all.” Amanda felt her jaw drop, and the woman rushed on. “Well, here it is. Thank you.” She shuffled back down the hall to her apartment.
“Oh my gosh! What am I doing here?” she muttered. When she turned to head back inside, she caught movement on the couch. A quick escape was for the best. She obviously misjudged the man. Apparently she was right on target with her first impression of him; he was a player. And she nearly fell for his line--hook, line, and sinker.
She placed the mail on his desk, grabbed her things, and flew out the door. As the elevator doors closed, she saw that same nosey neighbor shaking her head in apparent disapproval and regretted waiting to put her shoes on in the elevator. Amanda squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head in shame. “What that woman must think of me,” she whispered, as she jabbed the lobby button.
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Lee awoke to the sound of the phone ringing. Why was he sleeping on the couch? Then he smelled the light, airy perfume lingering on his clothes and remembered. He and Amanda had fallen asleep talking. Amanda. Where was she? He remembered waking up in the middle of the night wrapped snuggly around her small frame. He had never enjoyed the cuddling that came in the late night hours of sleeping with any of his lady friends. But the way he felt when holding her last night seemed to calm him in a way he had never experienced.
She was a contradiction in terms; she was beautiful, sexy, and vivacious, but she was also wholesome and down-to-earth. She seemed so easy to please, unlike the other women he dated, who expected to be wined and dined. He imagined Amanda would be just as happy to spend an evening at home watching a movie and snuggling on the couch as attending a fancy party. Why did the mere thought of her bring a smile to his face? The clicking of the answering machine interrupted Lee’s thoughts. He pushed himself off the couch, stretching to work the kinks out of his back and shoulders. The couch may be comfortable to sit on, but sleeping on it was another matter entirely.
Playing back the message, he realized he’d missed Billy Melrose’s call. His Section Chief only called him at home when something big was coming down. He picked up the handset and dialed the familiar number. When he reached Billy, he was told he was needed in the office and would be briefed there. It was no doubt about his current case involving unexplained agent killings. There was only one way to find out for sure. He would head into the agency as soon as he called Amanda and grabbed a hot shower.
‘Why did she leave so early and without even saying goodbye?’ He was disappointed that she wasn’t there, which was somewhat disturbing, but he quickly shook the thought from his mind. ‘ I’ve got to get her to stick around for at least a month, otherwise, Mark and Fred will win the bet, and I’ll be five hundred dollars lighter.’ It wasn’t so much the money as it was the idea that he would prove them right. So what if he was drawn to this woman? It was all for a bet--nothing less, nothing more.
He grabbed the phone again. After calling information, he dialed the number and waited for her to answer. He was about to hang up after the fourth ring when he heard her sweet voice. “Hi, Amanda! It’s…” He stopped when he realized he was listening to her machine. Suddenly feeling a bit nervous, he cleared his throat and tried to think of something to say. At the machine’s prompt, he began. “Hi, Amanda. It’s Lee…Lee Stetson. I just wanted to make sure you made it home safely and to…uh…to make sure you were okay. I really enjoyed spending time with you last night. My number is 555-7631. Bye.”
He replaced the receiver and smacked his hand to his forehead. “Smooth, Stetson. Real smooth. You sounded like an idiot.” How did she do this to him after only one night? He was used to making women swoon at his feet. All he knew was that he wanted to get to know Amanda King better. ‘No, this is just about the bet, Stetson, nothing else.’ With that, he headed to the shower.
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Amanda pulled into her driveway just before seven, hoping beyond all hope that she’d beaten her mother home. She had taken a taxi from Lee’s apartment to the bar where she had left her car. Amanda silently entered the seemingly quiet house and eased the door closed. She stood in the entryway, listening for any signs that her mother was home. When she realized she had indeed beaten her, she let out a small sigh. ‘Thank goodness, no early morning inquisitions,’ she thought, as she made her way into the kitchen. She stopped dead in her tracks. Her mother sat at the kitchen table, reading the paper and drinking her coffee. She bit her lower lip and groaned inwardly, mentally preparing for the onslaught of questions.
“Mother! You’re home awfully early. How is Mrs. Topping feeling?” Amanda grabbed a coffee mug and poured herself a cup of the hot beverage.
“Amanda, darling. Where have you been? I was worried when I arrived home and your car was missing. And Mrs. Topping is doing much better.” Her mother pulled a corner of the paper down and looked at her expectantly over the rim of her glasses. Suddenly, Amanda felt sixteen-years-old again, caught breaking her curfew.
She forged ahead. “Yes, well, it was so late I spent the night at Mary Ann’s. I’m sorry I worried you.” She fumbled with the cream and sugar, hoping her mother didn’t press her any further. Amanda hated lying to her, but what choice did she have? She couldn’t tell her that she had spent the wee hours of the morning snuggling with a man she met the night before at a bar. What would she think?
“Oh, that was a good idea. You know how I feel about you driving so late at night. It’s just too dangerous!”
Glad to see her mother wasn’t going to press the issue, she grabbed her coffee and hurried toward the stairs. “Well, Mother, I think I’ll head upstairs and take a quick shower.”
“Oh, Amanda, dear? You have a message on the machine from a Mr. Stetson. Apparently he enjoyed the time you spent together last night and wants to see you again.”
She halted at the foot of the staircase. Her shoulders slumping, she headed back into the kitchen. Amanda saw the determined look on her mother’s face and flushed. “Oh, okay. Thank you, Mother.” She stared at the machine in utter shock.
“Well, I’m going to go upstairs and gather up the laundry.” With a knowing smirk, she added, “You enjoy your shower, dear.” She patted Amanda’s arm.
At the faint sound of her mother snickering, Amanda closed her eyes tightly. “I would’ve been better off telling her the truth. Now she thinks I’m having a ‘thing’.” She moved to the answering machine on the counter and pressed the play button.
The sound of his voice reminded her of their late night talk and how comfortable she had felt. Their conversation seemed to flow naturally, as if they’d always known each other. The machine’s beeping reminded her of the reality of the situation. Her thoughts shifted to her conversation with Lee’s neighbor earlier that morning. She could almost hear the older woman’s words. ‘He has so many of you coming and going, it would be a full-time job keeping track of you all.’
As she realized she was just another one of his many conquests, anger threatened to overwhelm her. Perhaps the only reason he had called was because he’d failed to bed her the night before. She pressed the delete button with a flourish and headed up the stairs to shower.
To Be Continued…